CBS drops “Glass House” lawsuit

U.S. net CBS has filed for voluntary dismissal of its copyright infringement case against ABC over the reality show The Glass House, but is continuing claims against former Big Brother producers in separate arbitration.

CBS has dropped a lawsuit that alleged rival U.S. broadcaster ABC ripped off its Big Brother format in creating the reality series The Glass House.

In May, CBS filed suit in Los Angeles federal court against the Disney-controlled network and several former Big Brother producers, citing copyright infringement, trade-secret misappropriation, unfair competition, breach of contract and conspiracy, among other things. On Friday (August 17), the Eye network filed for voluntary dismissal, but said in a statement that it reserves the right to re-file the case.

The Glass House, which brought 14 contestants together in a state-of-the-art house to compete for a quarter of a million dollars, has rated poorly, averaging 2.9 million viewers this summer.

“The viewers have spoken and delivered the ultimate form of justice against The Glass House,” said CBS in a statement. “As a result, we filed in federal court this morning a voluntary dismissal without prejudice of our claims against ABC. The contract and trade secrets claims against former Big Brother producers for violating their confidentiality agreements will continue separately in arbitration.

“We reserve the right to re-file this claim against ABC/The Glass House, or any other entity, that goes to such shocking lengths to duplicate our copyright material.”

CBS previously branded The Glass House “a carbon copy” of Big Brother, and alleged that at least 19 former producers and staff from Big Brother violated confidentiality agreements by working on the new show. Earlier this summer, a judge denied the network’s request for a restraining order to block the show from airing, arguing that the production techniques behind Big Brother are not unique and are used on other reality shows. The network later amended its suit and re-filed.

ABC countered that the differences between the two shows were “fundamental and obvious” and countered that CBS was attempting to “stifle competition and creativity” with the legal action.

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Daniele Alcinii is a news editor at realscreen, the leading international publisher of non-fiction film and television industry news and content. He joined the RS team in 2015 with experience in journalism following a stint out west with Sun Media in Edmonton's Capital Region, and with communications work in Melbourne, Australia and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @danielealcinii.